Pocket Parks Publishing

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A while back, I was contacted by a group called Side Tours. They host tours by real people all over the U.S. and decided I should be one of their experts. Through their representative, I’ve developed a tour of 9 of the parks found in my book, BEST Pocket Parks of NYC. There are a range of dates and times, so take a look and see a few of these innovative pocket parks in the city that never sleeps. I kept them concentrated in one area, but there is some walking involved, so be prepared.

We are proud and honored to announce thatPocket Parks Publishing has been chosen as an American Small Business Champion by SCORE and Sam’s Club.

The American Small Business Championship (championship.score.org) awarded the title to 102 small businesses, two in every state and the District of Columbia, for their sacrifices and dedication to the success of their business.The American Small Business Champions each received a $1,000 Sam's Club gift card, an all-expense-paid trip to a training event, SCORE mentoring for one year, and promotion throughout the year to showcase each Champion’s story.

We are honored to have been chosen and look forward to attending the training event and connecting with our very own SCORE mentor to really take our business to the next level.

If you need a thank you note or even a birthday card with a cool NYC scene, head over to my Etsy Shop. I have a limited number of blank notecards available for sales featuring images of some of my most favorite pocket parks from my book, BEST Pocket Parks of NYC. Bulk orders for your gift baskets, New York City destination wedding or other events are gratefully accepted. Email me for details. My notecards are featured in some of the top NYC event planners' vendor lists!

According to the records of the Library of Congress’ Veterans’ History Project, for veterans, “keeping a diary proved to be a therapeutic exercise both during and after the war. Like [Barner], many veterans 'told the truth to' the diaries they kept during their time in the military. Originally kept as tools for dealing with the stress and boredom of military life, these diaries now stand as tools to be used by future generations, to gain a more complete picture of what their authors endured and witnessed.”

Rosemary O'Brien launched a site that allows individuals and organizations to create custom made books of their time in service. Ro. is a military spouse herself, with a passion for storytelling! As an accomplished author for more than 20 years, she knows how to pull together personal journals and interviews to create a compelling book for families, organizations or individuals.

If you or some you know would like to create a book through Veterans' Stories service, or know anyone who would, please contact Rosemary at rosie@PocketParksNYC.com or pass this on to someone who might be interested.

I was lucky. My grandfather, Jack, was a natural storyteller. As a matter of fact, he made a career of it, and I ended up following in his footsteps. He became a sought-after sportscaster, doing many big boxing matches and had a permanent gig as the commentator for the Baseball Hall of Fame Game. And after a stint as a broadcast journalist and TV anchor myself, I moved to helping others find their voice, tell their stories, and be heard. With him, I even got to interview Joe DiMaggio and other baseball greats, who loved Jack’s stories as much as I did. Yet, it is my Papa’s stories of the depression and the war that always stay with me. Although not moral tales, they always talked about doing what was right, even though many times, I never got that as he shared. And of course, my favorite is about a cedar hope chest. He was an airplane mechanic working in Cuba. And there was a beautiful hope chest he was determined to send home. But being so large, it was nearly impossible to ship. So he took a gamble, literally. A keen poked player, he played cards with a bunch of bomber pilots and kept on winning. (He promised me he never cheats!) The pilots were out of money and wanted to get it back. So he told them he would give everything back if they would fly to New York to drop off the chest. One agreed. Victoria was thrilled with her present. And even more thrilled when she opened it and saw an engagement ring. Yes, that is how my grandfather proposed to my grandmother. And today, that hope chest is part of my own family, and has travelled across country to California when we moved. After all, if it could fly via bomber plane, moving it via truck was no problem.Business and marketing pro, Shannon Cherry, helps business owners create a powerful presence to make more money. She founded her business, ShannonCherry.com, in 2002 to help helped experienced and ambitious entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants to create and grow the business they desire– without compromising on their sincerity and principles.

We had such a great time in New York City and the weather definitely cooperated. Many of the locations were closed due to holiday decorating or in preparation for winter, but we saw them anyway or found the statues that had been moved inside. This is a selfie looking back at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on 47th Street between First and Second Avenues. This was one of the several parks planned, but I added more and we ran into a few on our way.

These ladies were serious about finding these parks and learning all about them! It was a great day and great practice should I ever have to give a tour (which I may be doing in the future). Stay tuned!

Most of all, thank you to this group for giving me an excuse to visit one of my favorite cities in the world. What started out as a meeting with a book club about one of my novels turned into a fun adventure.

I am so excited to be taking these ladies to NYC next week! I met them at their book club to talk about FIRST SATURDAY and we also ended up talking about BEST POCKET PARKS OF NYC. Since they are all up for anything fun, they talked me into showing them a few of the parks in my book. I can't wait to hang out with them again. What a fun group of ladies!

I am so excited to be working on my first veteran's story. A nurse was deployed to Iraq and kept a journal of everything she did, saw and felt about the experience. I am honored she entrusted me to help her share her story - for herself, her family or the general reading public. We shall see where it leads us. For now, I am diving into her memories and hopefully creating a valuable keepsake for her and her family.

The photo she sent me before the first journal went into the mail for its journey to Connecticut. This is untouched and raw just like her journal.